--- title: "Man Trying to Catch Flight Alarmed as His Driverless Waymo Gets Stuck Driving in Loop Around Parking Lot" description: "A man had the misfortune of becoming trapped inside a driverless Waymo taxi, which drove in circles instead of to the airport." date: "2025-01-06" modified: "2025-01-06" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/man-catch-flight-driverless-waymo-stuck" categories: - "Advanced Transport" tags: - "driverless cars" - "robotaxis" - "the digest" - "waymo" --- # Man Trying to Catch Flight Alarmed as His Driverless Waymo Gets Stuck Driving in Loop Around Parking Lot ![A man had the misfortune of becoming trapped inside a driverless Waymo taxi, which drove in circles instead of to the airport.]() *\Image: Mike Johns via LinkedIn\* ## Do or Donut A man had the misfortune of becoming trapped inside a driverless Waymo taxi as it drove around a Scottsdale, Arizona parking lot in circles — instead of getting him to the airport for his imminent flight. Tech entrepreneur Mike Johns [shared a video of the distressing encounter]() on LinkedIn last month. "I have a flight to catch, why is this thing going in a circle?" an exasperated Johns told Waymo customer service in the video. "I'm going dizzy." "I've got my seatbelt on, I can't get out of the car," he said. "Has this been hacked? What's going on?" Fortunately, Johns eventually got a refund and even made it to the airport in time, as the [*LA Times* reports](). Nonetheless, the incident highlights the significant rough edges that remain for robotaxis, even as they become an increasingly common sight on US streets. Despite years of research and development, plenty of vehicles are still getting stuck — to their helpless customers' dismay. "My Waymo experience sucked," Johns wrote in the caption of his video. "Mind you I was on my way to the airport and nearly missed my flight. I'll keep it old fashion and just Lyft or Uber." ## Ride Along Waymo, a subsidiary of Google owner Alphabet, launched its robotaxi service in LA last fall. For years now, the company has been offering driverless ride-hailing to riders in both Phoenix and San Francisco. As Waymo plans expansions in [Austin](), [Miami](), and [Tokyo, Japan](), it stands out in a crowded field of would-be competitors — [most notably Elon Musk's Tesla]() — trying to make the idea of a driverless taxi service a reality. There have been considerable growing pains for most of those ventures, from robotaxis [getting stuck in roundabouts]() to [smashing into delivery robots](). As the [*New York Times* reported]() in September, robotaxi services often require humans to take over control as a result. General Motors' Waymo competitor Cruise has become the poster child of the tech's shortcomings, with the [company shutting down]() in December following several [hair-raising safety incidents](). Whether the services will ever provide an advantage over getting a ride from a human driver remains unclear. A [study by *Forbes*]() last year [found that]() Waymo rides aren't just more expensive, but they take twice as long on average. In short, their presence on public streets has not only become a nuisance but a glimpse of an automated future that foregoes human connection in favor of efficiency and profit (which, it's worth noting, still [seems a long way off]()). "It's just, again, a case of today's digital world," Johns [told *CBS News*](). " A half-baked product and nobody meeting the customer, the consumers, in the middle." "Human-less, right?" he added. "Human-less. "That's the ghost in the shell, right?" **More on robotaxis:** *[Tesla Has Secretly Been Testing Robotaxis]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()